Balint: Those who knew me from the language training in Warsaw may remember that I had sleeping problem. Now, I do not have this problem at all -something that hasn’t happened to me for 33 years. I am able to plan my life – it is very important to know what tomorrow will bring me .
How do you estimate the standard of living in your home country and in Sweden?

B: Different. Better. People here are smiling and kind. Maybe because the feeling of safety and security, better economy, or the amount of free time they can enjoy here.
What was the most challenging for you after moving abroad?

B: Being without friends. It is difficult to make new friends here but we were lucky with our neighbors and co-workers because they are kind and friendly. I still miss my Hungarian friends but fortunately we can use internet and Skype to communicate.

How do you cope with the foreign language in the new country?

B: At work, there is no problem but in everyday life can be a little difficult. It’s easy for me to chat with the others but if you want to buy or sign something I must be prepared separately.
How has your family adapted to the life in Sweden?

B: I’m lucky because my wife is incredible. She has got a job after three months and speaks good Swedish. She has made friends from work and from the language course and lives a social life. Life in Sweden is easy to get used to if you want to. I have completely different hobbies than in Hungary, but it fits better here. For example, I could never imagine running without the ball but something is here in the air that makes me unable to sit quietly at home and watch TV. Strange 🙂

Dear Agnieszka,
My life has changed a lot, because I have a lot of free time.
Working conditions (in Norway) are much better than in Lithuania (…)
The most challenging thing is the language. Not because I was supposed to speak Norwegian, but also because I have to know Swedish and Danish and most of the people include both of these languages while they speak, plus there is the dialect, which is slightly different from what I have been learning in Poland.
Foreign language was not easy to learn, but I have been studying, preparing myself before the lessons. Now I always watch Norwegian television and I have ordered Norwegian newspapers, which I read constantly.
(…)
By the way, I would like to say that I could recommend Paragona to anyone, the way you have prepared us to the life in Norway is amazing, everything has been thought about and what Paragona is doing is on very high level. It does not matter how hard it is to adapt to a foreign life, Paragona has nothing to do about it, because it is a personal matter. Paragona thought about every single detail and that is a thing which I always will be thankful about.

Thank you,
Giedre

(Email from the internal medicine specialist recruited by Paragona in 2011)